Return to the Homepage Home
 Worship Schedules, Education, Fellowship, Outreach Worship & Service
 Sermon Archive Sermons
 A copy of the Sunday Prayers of Intercession Prayers
 Pastor Lynne's monthly newsletter Pastor's Page
 Articles and tidbits from the monthly newsletter Newsletter
 This month's events as well as the monthly calendar Current Events
 Read the Sunday School News Letter! Sunday School News
 Events for grades 7 to 12 Youth
 Other websites of interest Links
  
 Login to Administer this site Admin Login

St. Luke's Zion Lutheran Church
2903 McPhillips Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba
CANADA R2P 0H3
http://www.stlukeszion.ca

Phone: (204) 339-0412
Fax: (204) 339-0412
E-mail: stlukeszionchurch@gmail.com
site design by clayton rumley

 

The Holy Trinity(A)
Sunday, May 18th, 2008

click here for past entries

Loving God, you have created us in your image, redeemed us through Jesus Christ, and blessed us by your Spirit. Help us to continue to grow in our faith, even in the midst of our doubts, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

In 1968, as Apollo 8 orbited the moon, astronauts Frank Borman, Bill Anders, and Jim Lovell read from Genesis chapter one: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (RSV). For them, it was a moment where science meets faith. As they were looking at planet Earth from space, they saw the beauty of the universe created by God. They had a “God’s eye view” of planet Earth. They saw Genesis in a whole new light.

Others over the years have had similar reactions as they have studied the marvel of the human body, or the intricacies of the plants and animals that we see around us. Many scientists have had their faith strengthened by the discoveries that they have made and the delicate balance which they have observed within this created world.

At the same time, others have decided that somehow faith and science are mutually exclusive. Some have decided that all of the days and years in the Bible are exactly like we count them today, and therefore all talk of life on this planet going back millions of years is rubbish. Others have decided that evolution makes eminent sense and therefore the Bible must be wrong. Still others debate the “big bang” theory, while others ask how the dinosaurs fit in. So how do we find the truth in all of this?

First of all, the one true God who is revealed to us in the Scriptures and also in the magnificence of creation is the Creator of the universe. This is part of our faith as Christians. However, this does not mean that we need to discount all theories and discoveries which scientists put forward. Could God have used a “big bang” of some sort in order to get the process of creation started? Certainly. Why not? Could God have used some evolutionary processes along the way? It’s entirely possible. Could God’s days have been many, many years long? Absolutely! To God there is no difference between a thousand years and a day. It’s kind of like the phrase “in the day,” which doesn’t always mean one 24 hour day (cf. Gen. 2:4).

Ultimately, the Bible’s primary concern is not to give a scientific description of the process of creation. Rather the Bible’s main concern is to introduce us to the God who loves us, and who saves us, and who created us in God’s own image. Actually, the amazing thing in the message of the Scriptures is not that God created the universe, but that God continues to care about us and to desire a relationship with us.

It is clear right from the start that God is all about relationships, as even creation is done in concert with the other members of the Trinity. Did you notice in the reading from Genesis that God is not an “I” but a “we” and an “us”? According to John chapter 1, Jesus, the Son of God was present at the time of creation (Jn. 1:1-4), and the Spirit was there according to Genesis, moving over the face of the waters (Gen. 1:2). God the Father is the primary Creator, but the Son and the Spirit are involved in the process, too. Perhaps, in part, that is why there are so many different types of human beings – all created in the image of God!

“We’re many kinds of people with many kinds of faces, all colours and all ages, too, from all times and places” (Avery & Marsh, We are the church). Do you recognize those words from the song? “I am the church! You are the church! ...” All of those different types of human beings are brought together by Jesus into one church – one body – one family. All of us are created in the image of God. All of us have been redeemed through Jesus Christ. All of us have been given gifts for ministry by the power of the Holy Spirit.

This brings us to the gospel for today, where the eleven disciples are gathered together with Jesus and they worship him. And as they worship, they doubt (Mt. 28:17). And yet, all of them are given the same commission and the same promise: Go... baptize and teach and make disciples... and “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:19-20).

There is a lot that we can learn from those three simple words: “but some doubted.” In spite of their doubts, the Holy Spirit came upon those same disciples and did great things through them. We tend to forget that it is a perfectly normal part of faith to have doubts. I don’t know of any person of faith who never has any doubts. It should be a comfort to us that the disciples were still doubting even after they had spent many days with Jesus, both during his earthly life and after his resurrection.

Yet, it seems that today, many people use doubts as an excuse to not even try in the first place. I’ve had people tell me that they don’t attend worship because there are certain things in the Scriptures where they can’t quite work out all of the details in their mind. Well, since when do you have to have every detail all worked out in order to have faith? The same is true for those who might contemplate baptism or confirmation. If we all had to wait until every doubt was gone from our minds, then there would be very few members of the church!

To doubt is simply to be human, and God can use us anyways. In fact, it is often through stepping out in faith and engaging in ministry that we discover the amazing things that the Holy Spirit can do through us. On the other hand, when we allow our doubts to control everything and simply sit on the sidelines, our faith never grows any stronger.

Seeing as Indiana Jones is back on the big screen again, I can’t help but think of one scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It is an excellent illustration of stepping out in faith, as Indy is faced with a gaping chasm that seems to have no way across it. Of course he is being chased by the bad guys and has nowhere else to go. The clues that he has been following lead him to believe that he needs to just step out there – an apparently foolish move that seems certain to send him to his death. As he takes that first step, his foot lands on a bridge that is invisible until he throws some pebbles out onto it. Stepping out in faith is sometimes like that.

In recent days, I suspect that many might use earthquakes and cyclones as occasions for doubt and questioning. Yet, there are many different approaches to take to the same events. Some will say that it is a sign of the end times. Some will ask how God could do such a thing. Some will see it as a natural part of the cycle of life and death, as there are always powerful forces of nature at work. Some will see the humanly created death traps that are concrete buildings. Some will see it as a natural form of population control. Some will get angry at God. Some will see proof that there is no God.

My mother-in-law has seen many different tornadoes and storms in her life-time, having lived in various parts of the States. However, she doesn’t fear them. She says how she has seen tornadoes that will skip along, hit one house and miss the next one. She simply figures that if it lands right on you, then your time was up, and you’re in God’s hands either way. This is truly the perspective of faith.

As we worship, we will quite often have doubts at the same time. Yet, this does not stop God from giving us the Holy Spirit or from using us as the presence of Christ in this world. In fact, it is often as God works through us that we discover that the power of the Holy Spirit is real and that Jesus truly is with us at all times. “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:20). Amen.

The Holy Trinity(A)            Genesis 1:1-2:4a
May 18, 2008                      Matthew 28:16-20
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison Moore

© 2008 Lynne Hutchison Moore All Rights Reserved


Previous Sermons
March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
March 2004
February 2004
January 2004
December 2003
January 2003
March 0201